Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 25-06-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 25-06-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1.  Social Issues - Preventing obesity - NITI Aayog convened a National Convention on Prevention of Maternal, Adolescent and Childhood Obesity. NITI Aayog described obesity as a “silent epidemic”. Officers from UNICEF spoke of evidence on the increasing burden of over-nutrition in India. Officers from the World Food Programme (WFP) emphasized on the need to diversify food-based social safety nets to prevent obesity. It was discussed how obese population is an unhealthy population and the cost of treating obesity, is the cost of junk food marketing. All expressed the unanimous need to address this issue on a priority basis, with a resounding emphasis on better mass communication around encouraging physical activity, healthy eating and lifestyle. A need for a "whole of government" and a "whole of society approach" was emphasised in tackling the twin challenge of obesity and under. An urgent need for adopting strategies related to fiscal measures, regulating front-of-package labelling, promoting healthy diet, physical activity and lifestyle options emerged as key themes for future deliberations and actions. Dr. V.K Paul, Member (Health and Nutrition), NITI Aayog called for a multi-sectoral approach targeting the adolescents to promote activity and healthy lifestyle.
2. Entertainment Games and Sports - India's Olympic song launched - The Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju launched the official theme song of the Indian Olympic Team of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, on the occasion of Olympic Day in New Delhi. The song has been composed and sung by popular playback singer Mohit Chauhan and lyrics penned by his wife Prathna Gahilote. Rijiju said, “It is the vision of the PM that the nation must come together to support and motivate Indian athletes going to Tokyo Olympics. The launch of the official Theme Song today is a step in that direction." The Sports Ministry has launched a nation-wide #Cheer4India campaign through various activities like quizzes, selfie points, debates and discussions on Olympics. Also announced was IOA’s partnership with former Indian Badminton player and Chief National coach of the Indian Badminton team, Pullela Gopichand and ‘Dhyana’ Sports to provide a wearable meditation devices for all the athletes and every member of the Indian contingent to Tokyo, to help the athletes keep their minds fit and happy while they are in isolation at the Olympic Village in Tokyo.
3. Environment Ecology and Climate Change - River runoff, glacier melt and seasonality of flow to rise - A research by Dr Mohd. Farooq Azam (IIT Indore) gathered results from more than 250 scholarly research papers to arrive at a more accurate understanding of the links between climatic warming, precipitation change and glacier shrinkage. The study shows that glacier and snow melt are important components of HK rivers with greater hydrological importance for the Indus than Ganga and Brahmaputra basins. Snow and glaciers are melting rapidly in the Himalayan range due to climate change, altering water supplies in the rivers like Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra in the Himalaya-Karakoram (HK) ranges. The HK region in South Asia, often called the water tower of Asia or the Third Pole is one of the most heavily glacierized mountain regions on Earth. Understanding the response of HK rivers to climate change is crucial for almost 1 billion people who partly depend on these water resources. The HK region in South Asia, often called the water tower of Asia or the Third Pole is one of the most heavily glacierized mountain regions on Earth. Understanding the response of HK rivers to climate change is crucial for almost 1 billion people who partly depend on these water resources.
4. World Politics - Delta variant everywhere - (a) Indonesia recorded its highest number of daily cases—over 14,500—as infections surged following a religious holiday and the spread of the Delta variant. Hospital beds in Jakarta are 80% full. Nationally, less than 10% of people over the age of 12 have received a single vaccine dose. (b) Japan said it would limit the number of spectators at Olympic events to 10,000, but insisted the games would start on July 23rd. (c) A court in Brussels chastised AstraZeneca for breaching its contract with the eu on vaccines, but did not support the eu’s demand that the drug company deliver 120m doses by the end of June. (d) Calls were made for the British government to publish its risk assessment of the recent G7 summit it hosted in Cornwall, after a surge of infections were recorded around the area where the events were held.
5. Constitution and Law - Government pushing the Indian Port Bill 2021 - In FY 2020, the traffic handled at Indian ports was about 1.2 billion MT, which is expected to increase to 2.5 billion MT by 2030. Only a few ports in India have deeper draft which can handle capsize vessels. There are around 100 non-functional ports distributed across the coast of India. The ever-increasing size of ships mandates to have deeper draft ports and indeed mega ports need to be developed. Similarly, the non-functional ports also need to be prioritized and developed. A national-level integrated approach is required to augment the existing ports or to develop new ports in an efficient and sustainable manner which in turn will reduce the freight costs to a greater extent and improve the trade growth. The national-level integrated port planning is also highlighted in various report including 'The World Bank's Port Reform book, UNCTAD's ‘Handbook for Planners in Developing Countries’ etc. The Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) will advise on the planning of all ports including Major Ports. Several conventions pertaining to safety, security and prevention of pollution are incorporated in IP Bill 2021 for implementation of requirements stipulated in such conventions by all ports.
6. World Economy - China versus Bitcoin - China’s central bank stepped up its clampdown on bitcoin and other digital currencies, hauling in officials from the country’s biggest banks to discuss the problem of “cryptocurrency speculation”. China eventually wants its citizens to use a government-backed cryptocurrency that is being tested in pilot projects. The price of bitcoin, meanwhile, recovered somewhat after falling below $30,000 for the first time since January, before starting to recover.
7. Social Issues - Indian tribal products in New York - As a part of the International Day of Yoga, the Consulate General of India in New York organized a day-long event to showcase Yoga, holistic health, Ayurveda and wellness at New York’s Times Square. A particular attraction were the stalls on display which showcased unique natural tribal products including immunity boosters, and Ayurvedic products. The stall put up by Tribes India garnered a lot of attention. It included a range of tribal products, comprising both organic, essential natural immunity-boosting productssuch as millets, rice, spices, honey, chyawanprash, amla, ashwagandha powders, herbal teas and coffee and accessories such as yoga mats, wind flutes, herbal soaps, bamboo aromatic candles etc.The stalls also saw a largefootfall  and a lot of interest was expressed in knowing about the uniqueness of Indian tribes and tribal products. As a part of its mission to promote tribal products and connect tribal entrepreneurs access to larger national and international markets, TRIFED collaborated with the Consulate General Of India in New York to explore this channel for popularizing ethnic products in the United States of America.
8. World Economy - Biden massive infra push - President Joe Biden struck a deal on an infrastructure bill worth around $1.2trn, roughly half in new spending, with a group of senators from both parties. It falls far short of Mr Biden’s original proposal, but such is compromise. As soon as the deal was announced, he insisted that an equally large expenditure on “human infrastructure”, including child care, education and clean energy, could be tacked on later, via reconciliation in the Senate. Republicans cried foul!
9. Governance and Institutions - The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the "Employment Outlook of the country" covering the period September, 2017 to April, 2021 based on the administrative records available with selected government agencies. Since April, 2018 the Ministry has published employment statistics in the formal sector covering the period September 2017 onwards, using information on the number of subscribers who have subscribed under three major schemes, namely the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme and the National Pension Scheme (NPS). Data are - (a) EPF - During September, 2017 – April, 2021; 4,26,80,737 new subscribers joined the EPF scheme. EPF is applicable to establishments having more than 20 workers. (b) ESI - During September, 2017 – April, 2021; 5,09,93,551 new subscribers joined the ESI scheme. ESI is applicable to establishments having more than 10 workers. (c) NPS - 26,45,681 new subscribers joined and contributed in the NPS Central Government, State Governments and Corporate schemes during September 2017 to April 2021. NPS is applicable to any citizen of India, whether resident or non-resident, individuals who are aged between 18 – 60 years as on the date of submission of his/her application. The above NPS data is exclusive of All Citizen Sector, NPS Lite schemes and Atal Pension Yojana.
10. Energy - Renewable power sops - Ministry of Power issued order for extension of the waiver of Inter-State Transmission system (ISTS) charges on transmission of electricity generated from solar and wind sources for projects to be commissioned up to 30th June 2025. The order promotes the development of solar, wind, Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), trading of RE in the power exchanges and seamless transmission of RE power across the states. This will encourage the RE trade in the Power Exchanges, and volume of renewable energy trade will increase. An opportunity to minimise the curtailment of RE as the RE developers will also have the option to sell power in the power exchanges and get instantly paid on the day of delivery of power itself. The buyers of Renewable energy will also have an opportunity to sell their surplus power in the power exchanges or allow in advance the sellers to sell in the power exchange. Thus, India will pave the way for energy transition from Fossil fuel to Non-fossil fuel by giving incentive for power trade from Renewable, Hydro PSP and Energy Storage.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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• 1. ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

S&P lowers India's FY22 growth forecast to 9.5%

• The story: S&P Global Ratings cut India's growth forecast for fiscal 2021-22 to 9.5 per cent, from 11 per cent earlier, and warned of risk to the outlook from further waves of Covid pandemic. It said that a severe second COVID-19 outbreak in April and May led to lockdowns imposed by states and sharp contraction in economic activity.
• 2022-23: It said that some permanent damage to private and public sector balance sheets will constrain growth over the next couple of years. it projected India's growth at 7.8 per cent in the next fiscal ending March 31, 2023. Further pandemic waves are a risk to the outlook given that only about 15 per cent of the population received at least one vaccine dose so by end June, although vaccine supplies are expected to ramp up.
• The recession in 2020: Indian economy contracted by 7.3 per cent in fiscal 2020-21 as India battled the first wave of COVID, as against a 4 per cent growth in 2019-20. GDP growth in 2021-22 was estimated to be in double digits initially, but a severe second wave of pandemic has led to various agencies cut growth projections. This is a serious signal towards the need for government support in the form of income and cash transfers.
• RBI: In June, the RBI too cut India's growth forecast to 9.5 per cent for this fiscal, from 10.5 per cent earlier. It said manufacturing and exports were less severely affected compared with 2020, but services were acutely disrupted. Consumption indicators such as vehicle sales fell sharply in May 2021 and consumer confidence remains downbeat.
• Revovery: Indian economy turned a corner by end of June, as new COVID-19 cases fell consistently and mobility was recovering. S&P said households were running down saving buffers to support consumption and a desire to rebuild saving could hold back spending even as the economy reopens. Monetary and fiscal policies will remain accommodative but new stimulus will not be forthcoming. S&P also said RBI has no room to cut interest rates with inflation above 6 per cent the upper end of the central bank target range. (So no more monetary easing)
• Moody's on India: Another US-based rating agency Moody's has projected India to show a 9.3 per cent growth in the current fiscal ending March 2022. The World Bank had slashed its GDP growth forecast for current fiscal ending March 2022 to just 8.3 per cent, from 10.1 per cent estimated in April, saying economic recovery is being hampered by the devastating second wave of coronavirus infections. Domestic rating agency ICRA too had projected economic growth at 8.5 per cent for this financial year, while British brokerage firm Barclays had last month cut India's growth forecast to 9.2 per cent.
• Summary: The lower projections show how creating fresh jobs and higher incomes for those who lost these will continue to remain challenging.

Indian macro indicators back on track

• The story: Business activities across sectors such as auto, consumer goods and electronics, smartphones, ecommerce, hospitality and real estate picked up in June 2021 over May, amid falling infections and gradual relaxation of Covid-induced restrictions in various parts of the country.
• E-Way bills and petrol: Overall growth in FY22 will be lower than initially estimated due to a washout of business activity for over a month. Further, a possible third Covid wave later could derail recovery. For now, some indicators like eway bill generation bounced back in June - to 33.7 million till June 20, or a daily average of 1.68 million, compared to a daily average of 1.28 million in May, or a fullmonth e-way bill generation of 39.9 million - while consumption of petrol, diesel and power increased, also indicating heightened economic activity.
• Auto industry: With more than 80% of automobile retail outlets now operational, passenger vehicle (PV) sales in June could recover to 75% of the 2,70,000 units sold each month before the second Covid wave. PV sales were at 28% of average monthly retail in May. PV sales in FY22 are likely to be at around 3.1-3.3 million units with two-wheeler sales at 16.3-17.1 million units, down 5-10 percentage points from initial estimates.
• Physical retail: This in June compared to May, amid slowing consumer sentiment and with malls and markets continuing to be shut in crucial states such as Maharashtra and Karnataka. Retailers expect a faster recovery in the coming months on pent-up demand, but are nervous about a third Covid wave.
• Ecommerce: Companies expect 10% higher sales in June compared to May, as lockdown restrictions ease and state governments allow sale of all goods through the channel. Companies are lining up sale events to get consumers to spend more.
• FMCG: The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market expanded 15% in the first two weeks of June from May, and executives expect the momentum to continue till at least Diwali, leading to a better second half. The HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, catering) channel continued to struggle amid tepid consumer sentiment.
• Aviation: The aviation sector, a key indicator of business activity, saw recovery, with airlines flying over 100,000 passengers daily on several days in June, compared with an average around 31,000 during May. Airlines expect passenger numbers to return to earlier levels – domestic passenger numbers had reached a high of 300,000 per day earlier this year - faster, mainly on the back of vaccinations. But a third wave could hit their revival plans, warn industry executives.
• Digital Payments: In signs of increased business activity across sectors, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – the most used real-time payment system in India – grew 12.3% in the first 21 days of June over May, while payments made through debit and credit cards recorded 12.7% and 18.6% growth, respectively, as per RBI data. Similarly, cash withdrawals at teller machines across the country – a proxy for cash spends – grew 6.4%.

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• 2. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

Assam's vision for 'Black Softshell Turtle'

• The story: The Assam forest department signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and adopted a Vision Document to raise at least 1,000 black softshell turtles by 2030.
• Points to note: The Black Softshell Turtle is named 'Nilssonia nigricans', and looks almost the same as the Indian peacock softshell turtle (Nilssonia hurum), which is classified as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. Its habitat is in freshwater, and there are 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises found in India. They are found in ponds of temples in northeastern India and Bangladesh. Its distribution range also includes the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries.

1. Protection Status is - (i) IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered, (ii) CITES: Appendix I, (iii) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: No legal protection
2. Threats - Consumption of turtle meat and eggs, silt mining, encroachment of wetlands and change in flooding pattern.
3. Sea Turtles of Indian Waters - There are five species in Indian waters i.e. Olive Ridley, Green turtle, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Leatherback. The Olive Ridley, Leatherback and Loggerhead are listed as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Hawksbill turtle is listed as 'Critically Endangered' and Green Turtle is listed as 'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are protected in Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, under Schedule I.

• Turtle conservation: There are various initiatives.

1. National Marine Turtle Action Plan - It contains ways and means to not only promote inter-sectoral action for conservation but also guide improved coordination amongst the government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders on the response to cases of stranding, entanglement, injury or mortality of marine mammals and also conservation of marine turtles.
2. Indian Ocean Sea Turtle Agreement (IOSEA) - India is a signatory to the Indian Ocean Sea Turtle Agreement (IOSEA) of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), a United Nations backed initiative. It puts in place a framework through which States of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian region, as well as other concerned States, can work together to conserve and replenish depleted marine turtle populations for which they share responsibility.
3. KURMA App - It has a built-in digital field guide covering 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises of India. It was developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.

• Summary: The World Turtle Day is observed every year on 23rd May. These wonderful creatures deserve humanity's care and support.

CSE's 'State of India’s Environment In Figures' Report on Rural India

• The story: When in May 2021, over half of daily global cases happened in India on six days — triggered due to the surge in cases in rural districts - it severely exposed India’s healthcare system. A more distressing scenario is emerging from the rural hinterland, according to Down To Earth’s latest State of India’s Environment (2021) in Figures report. Community health centres in rural India need 76 per cent more doctors, 56 per cent more radiographers and 35 per cent more lab technicians, the annual compenium points out.
• Covers environment too: The report, brought out by the Centre for Science and Enviroment (CSE) covers a wide swathe of subjects, from air pollution and climate change to biodiversity and COVID, and from agriculture and land to water and waste.
• Pandemic pointers: The report’s analysis of the pandemic through numbers throws up an array of other interesting facts.

1. A key information emerging is that in the second wave, India has been the worst-hit globally; rural India has been hit more badly than our urban areas. In May 2021, India alone accounted for more than half of the daily global cases on six days. The peak was due to a surge in cases in rural districts.
2. Along with climate-related risks, infectious diseases have entered the list of major global economic threats for the first time since 2006.
3. Biomedical waste - There has been a 46 per cent increase in COVID-19 biomedical waste between April and May 2021. At the same time, treatment of this waste has dipped: In 2019, India managed to treat 88 per cent of its biomedical waste — down from almost 93 per cent in 2017.
4. Vaccination - The country has managed to fully vaccinate a mere 3.12 per cent of its population, lower than the global average of 5.48 per cent.
5. Economic impact – While urban unemployment rate reached almost 15 per cent in May 2021, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act implementation witnessed massive payment lags.

• Climate change dangers: The CSE report lays special emphasis on climate change. Grappling as India is with a debilitating pandemic, it cannot lose sight of another clear and present danger that threatening its very survival - climate change. The report points out that India recorded 12 of its 15 warmest years in the period between 2006 and 2020: it also had its warmest decade on record. Extreme weather events continued their rampage across the country, which was the fourth worst hit in the world in terms of internal displacements due to disasters.
• Migrants: Data on migrants is sparse — and so every time there is a lockdown, governments are caught unprepared by the exodus from cities. This is compounded by the fact that there is out-migration — people are leaving their homes because of many reasons of economic and ecological distress, including extreme weather and natural disasters. The report tells that in 2020, 76 per cent of internal displacements in the world were triggered by climate disasters. Between 2008 and 2020, some 3.73 million people per year were displaced because of floods, earthquakes, cyclones and droughts. The map of the significant weather events of 2020 is the new cartography of the country. Then add to this the fact that governments are spending massive amounts in repairing the damage from these not-so-natural calamities and you understand how the development dividend is being squandered with every such event,” she added.
• India and RE: In renewable energy, India’s ambitious renewable target, which was a commendable step towards going green, has slipped. With just 55 per cent of the target met, India is nowhere close to installing 175 GW of renewable capacity by 2022. The country also has a target of setting up at least 50 solar parks by 2021-22. So far, it has not operationalised even one of them.

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• 3. FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

Foreign affairs update

• Canada’s Indigenous reckoning: An Indigenous group announced the discovery of the remains of as many as 751 people, mostly children on the site of a former boarding school in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on 24th June 2021. It is the largest such discovery to date, and comes after 215 unmarked graves were uncovered on the grounds of a former boarding school in British Columbia. The revelations have led to increased calls from Indigenous groups for greater independence. The findings spurred a search in the United States at former boarding schools which were similarly used as a way to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children. China used the example of Canada’s past actions toward its Indigenous peoples to deflect criticism of its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
• China's crewed mission to Mars: China has announced plans to send a crewed mission to Mars in 2033, kicking off a new space race to reach the red planet. Wang Xiaojun, head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, laid out China’s plans at a conference in Russia this month, adding that more missions would follow in 2035, 2037, 2041, and 2043. The announcement comes as China has hit a number of space milestones this year—landing its first rover on Mars in May, and sending astronauts to its own space station, Tianhe, earlier this month. The plans are likely to be closely watched by U.S. space agency NASA, which has planned its own crewed mission to Mars via the moon to take place at some point in the 2030s. US has its own plans, ideationally led by Elon Musk of SpaceX.
• Russia vs. U.K. in the Black Sea: The British destroyer H.M.S. Defender sailed near the coast of Crimea on 23rd June 2021, to quietly demonstrate that the waters legally belonged to Ukraine despite Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula seven years ago, which has never been recognized internationally. The Russian Navy took it as deliberate provocation and fired warning shots nearby to force it to change directions. The news leaked out as a mediaman was aboard the British warship. Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine prompted international outcry and economic sanctions. In the seven intervening years, the Black Sea has become a flash point for Ukraine, Russia and NATO member countries. Russian said it would respond aggressively to any attempts by other countries to enter waters off Crimea that it deems Russian territory. Referring to Russia’s allegation of measures it took to deter the HMS Defender, a British ship that sailed close to Crimea on 23rd June, it said Russian forces “may drop bombs and not just in the path but right on target.”
• EU on Belarus: EU members were united when it came to Belarus, approving sweeping sanctions against Russia’s neighbour for the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in May 2021 in order to arrest a Belarusian dissident. The EU actions go far beyond the individual level sanctions imposed so far, targeting core sectors including potash, Belarus’s primary export, as well as petroleum products and tobacco. EU's treatment of Belarus is driving the country’s autocratic leader Aleksandr Lukashenko closer to Russia. Some experts feel the Kremlin “doesn’t actually want to be stuck with the aged, incompetent, brutal, and increasingly erratic Lukashenko,” but, for now, it sees no alternative.
• Hong Kong’s biggest pro-democracy newspaper shuts down: China's national security law has brought down Apple Daily, one of the last bastions of media resistance to Beijing. Crowds of Hong Kong residents gathered in support outside the headquarters of Apple Daily, one of the last bastions of media resistance to Beijing, as it sent its final edition to print. The paper announced it would close after the arrests of senior leadership under the draconian national security law introduced 2020. Banks froze the newspaper’s assets to avoid being charged themselves. The rollout of the national security law has seen successive groups targeted: first protest leaders, then democratic politicians, and now journalists. More than 800 Apple Daily staff have lost their jobs while Hong Kong has lost its long-cherished freedom of speech. The tabloid-style newspaper, founded in 1995, vigorously supported Hong Kong’s pan-democratic politicians, something that appeared incongruous next to its normal trade in celebrity gossip and crime news. As Beijing’s influence crept into other Hong Kong media outlets, such as the South China Morning Post taken over by Alibaba in 2015, Apple Daily remained stalwartly opposed to Beijing. Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai backed then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election due to his administration’s hard-line policies on China. Lai is currently in jail himself for participating in the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The media landscape in Hong Kong now looks increasingly desolate, with papers running identical front pages in support of the government.

Stark inequalities driving desperate migrants towards USA

• Surge of migrants: The surge of migrants at the United States’ southern border is a challenge for the Biden administration in its first few months in office. Vice President Kamala Harris’s went to Central America (first official mission abroad) showing how important the issue of migration is.
• Panama and others: However, Panama was left off the itinerary of her two-day trip, which included stops in Guatemala and Mexico. This despite the unprecedented number of migrants attempting to cross our border through a treacherous area of jungle known as the Darién Gap. The problem of uncontrolled migration is not isolated to Texas, California, New Mexico, or Arizona. Farther south, on the Panamanian border, a parallel crisis is unfolding as unprecedented numbers of migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East attempt to cross the Darién Gap en route to Canada and the United States.
• A global crisis: The situation is an international humanitarian crisis that knows no borders and requires immediate collaboration. The Darién jungle is one of the last untapped tropical forests in the Americas, stretching more than 60 miles from eastern Panama to northern Colombia. It is so dense that it interrupts the Pan-American Highway—a road that otherwise connects the Americas from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, to Alaska—and is considered one of the most dangerous stretches of jungle in the world. Migrants often make the journey through the area without food, water, or protection from wild animals and human and drug traffickers. An average of 20,000 people enter Panama by foot through the Darién Gap annually.
• What's driving the desperate migrants: The devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with severe weather caused by climate change and escalating violence, is driving migrants to leave their countries of origin, some of which are as far-flung as India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uzbekistan, and Senegal—to pursue a better life elsewhere.
• Right solution: To control all this, first the strengthening of visa requirements and background checks throughout Latin America is a must. Members of terrorist organizations and sanctioned parties find their way into Panama, where they are not permitted to enter in the first place. Second, the nations of the Americas have to collaborate to control the flow of migration. Since 2016, the governments of Panama and Costa Rica have worked together to put in place a joint policy to secure safe passage of migrants through their territories based on each country’s ability to ensure migrants’ care and safety. The countries of the Americas need to address this issue through regional cooperation, rather than disjointed bilateral actions and blame games.
• Summary: The stories of these migrants, and the drastic measures to which they go to pursue a better future, are a sobering reminder of the stark inequalities and hardships that many face around the world. Migrants undertake grueling journeys to meet their most fundamental human needs of prosperity, security, and dignity.

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• 4. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

Jammu and Kashmir politics begins a new phase

• The story: In a sudden turn of events, the Union govt. invited Kashmiri leaders for talks to Delhi. In that meeting, pledging to bridge the distance between ‘dil’ (heart) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Dilli (dil aur Dilli ki doori), India's PM Modi made an emotional closing speech. He promised that Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s approach of insaniyat (humaneness), jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (the Kashmiri identity) would be the guiding principles in the governance and administration of the Union Territory (UT).
• Details: The PM heard everyone before committing that the next steps in the region would be on the basis of consensus and respect for all views; that moves towards democracy (i.e., elections to the Assembly and eventually statehood) and development of the region would continue; and that the sacrifices made by the people in rooting out terrorism will not have been in vain. Senior leader Farooq Abdullah wanted a return to the pre-5 August 2019 status of J&K when Article 370 was written down. In an emotional speech he spoke about the loss of trust.
• PDP's view: Muzaffar Beigh, formerly of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who has now joined Sajjad Lone’s People’s Conference, reminded the gathering that the status of J&K was a matter before a constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court (SC). He warned people to not whip up sentiment around it. Later his tone changed and he said: "All leaders demanded statehood. To which the PM said, the delimitation process should conclude first and then other issues will be addressed."
• Congress's view: Senior Congress leader and former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad who opened the meeting raised the issue of the restoration of statehood, the question of Assembly polls, protection of the land rights of the people of J&K, the return of Kashmiri Pandits, and the release of political prisoners. Former CM Mehbooba Mufti echoed these concerns, and added that the government must restart a dialogue with Pakistan, partly in the interests of restarting border trade. She said New Delhi must engage Islamabad, in the same way it engages with other countries.
• Amit Sha: The Home Minister gave facts and figures about those who are in prison. He has set up a committee under Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha to review the cases but prisoners were convicted in criminal cases like murder, rape, terror funding, and money laundering too. Shah reiterated the Centre’s faith in democracy and said elections would be held but delimitation was a prerequisite to holding polls.
• Developmental projects: Among the projects is rail connectivity between Srinagar and the rest of India by 2022; industrial development of J&K, 100 per cent electrification of all districts and drinking water in most, and extensive fortification of the health infrastructure with two AIIMS institutions in the pipeline, along with medical colleges. Several oxygen plants have been set up and vaccinations against Covid are progressing apace.

COVID-19 Management - the federal imperative

• The story: The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light fundamental gaps in dealing with medical emergencies, and authorities now understand the need for assessing the federal relationship once more.
• The role of Union government: Events like the Covid-19 pandemic are national crises, and call for concerted efforts by both, the Government of India (GoI) and state governments. Denials, finger-pointing, and media management will not help in rightfully dealing with these. The time has come for the GoI to realise that health is a state subject, and the number of employees in the health wing of the GoI is negligible as compared to that in any state government. So anything credible in health sector or Covid management must be credited to the state governments. The GoI must help the states, and motivate them to do better.
• Functional role of the Union government: The GoI has a cardinal role to play in the entire vaccination process. The task before it is to procure 160 crore doses before December 2021, the stated target (by the PM). This works out to 26 crore doses per month as against the current production capacity of 6 crore. The Centre must thus try to augment supplies by encouraging companies to produce more and through imports/gifts. It is doubtful whether this can be achieved, but whatever it procures must be allotted to states in proportion to their eligible population. State governments must be involved in this policy. Later, the actual vaccination and beneficiary reach must be left to the state governments. The GoI must also augment supplies of critical medical goods in view of their acute shortage, through imports and donations from friendly nations.
• The role of State governments: The have rightly opted for need-based lockdowns and relaxations, which have helped arrest the spread of the virus, but as seen, lockdowns are not the solution. They buy some breathing time for the governments to ramp up capacity, and states must set up efficient and well-functioning control rooms and telemedicine centres. This should guide people on home treatment and timely admission to hospitals. The private sector can also be fully involved in these efforts. It is important to put in place a standard guidance protocol for health workers and control rooms to guide patients through the disease.
• Summary: There is likelihood of a third wave arriving. This calls for total co-operation of the central and the state governments and also the public. The central government must realise that states are on the forefront in this war, and therefore, play a supporting and proactive role. Above all, a high level of transparency on Covid management, particularly on vaccination, beds, supplies, infections and deaths, is essential.

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• 5. POLITY AND CONSTITUTION (Prelims, GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3)

What is it - "Union" or "Centre"

• The story: The Tamil Nadu government of CM M.K. Stalin decided to shun the usage of the term ‘Central government’ in its official communications and replace it with ‘Union government’. That led to a minor debate and controversy.
• Details: The 395 Articles in 22 Parts and eight Schedules in the original Constitution indicate that the term ‘Centre’ or ‘Central government’ is nowhere used. Though there is no reference to the ‘Central government’ in the original Constitution, the General Clauses Act, 1897 gives a definition for it. The real question is whether such definition for ‘Central government’ is constitutional as the Constitution itself does not approve of centralising power. The game here is that of verbal semantics!
• Union Government & Central Government: Under the British rule, the administration that the governor general ran was often described as the “Central Government”.

1. In 1919, for example, when a new Government of India Act passed by Britain’s parliament introduced a rudimentary form of self-government and federalism in India, powers were split between “central” and “provincial” subjects.
2. The modern term “Union” was first officially used in 1946 by the Cabinet Mission Plan, a British scheme to keep India united after transfer of power.
3. Many members of the Constituent Assembly were of the opinion that the principles of the British Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) be adopted.
4. Cabinet mission contemplated a Central government with very limited powers whereas the provinces had substantial autonomy.
5. The Partition and the violence of 1947 in Kashmir forced the Constituent Assembly to revise its approach and it was resolved in favour of a strong Centre.
6. So the possibility of the secession of States from the Union weighed on the minds of the drafters of the Constitution and ensured that the Indian Union was “indestructible”. Thus, Article 1 of Indian constitution states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”.

• Union versus Centre: The word 'centre' indicates a point in the middle of a circle, whereas 'Union' is the whole circle. In India, the relationship between the so-called 'Centre' and States, as per the Constitution, is actually a relationship between the whole and its parts. The sharing of powers between the Union and the States is not restricted to the executive organ of the government, it extends to other organs of government also.

1. The judiciary is designed in the Constitution to ensure that the Supreme Court, the tallest court in the country, has no superintendence over the High Court. Though the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction — not only over High Courts but also over other courts and tribunals — they are not declared to be subordinate to it.
2. The High Courts have wider powers to issue prerogative writs despite having the power of superintendence over the district and subordinate courts.
3. The Parliament and Assemblies identify their boundaries and are circumspect to not cross their boundaries when it comes to the subject matter on which laws are made.

• Other issues with "Central Government": The word ‘Centre’ is not used in the Constitution; the makers of the Constitution specifically discarded it and instead used the word ‘Union’. Dr. BR Ambedkar clarified that "Both the Union and the States are created by the Constitution, both derive their respective authority from the Constitution." The one is not subordinate to the other in its own field and the authority of one is to coordinate with that of the other”.
• Old things die hard: 'Centre' is a hangover from the colonial period because the bureaucracy in the Secretariat, New Delhi, used to using the word ‘Central Laws,’ ‘Central legislature,’ etc, and so everyone else, including the media, started using the word. India's is a federal government. The power to govern is divided between a government for the whole country, which is responsible for subjects of common national interest, and the states, which look after the detailed day-to-day governing of the state. So using the term ‘Centre’ or ‘central government’ would mean state governments are subservient to it.
• Summary: The members of the Constituent Assembly were cautious of not using the word ‘Centre’ or ‘Central government’ in the Constitution as they intended to keep away the tendency of centralising of powers in one unit. The ‘Union government’ or the ‘Government of India’ has a unifying effect as the message sought to be given is that the government is of all.

Electoral Trust Scheme, 2013

• A first for India: For the first time, an electoral trust (under Electoral Trust Scheme, 2013) has declared donation through electoral bonds and hasn’t revealed the names of the political parties that received the money, citing anonymity guaranteed under the electoral bond scheme.
• ADR found it out: According to the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), this “practice is against the spirit of the Electoral Trusts Scheme, 2013 and the Income Tax Rules, 1962 which make it mandatory for trusts to furnish each and every detail about the donor contributing to the trust. If Electoral trusts start adopting this precedent of donating through bonds, it will be a complete situation of unfair practices i.e. total anonymity, unchecked and unlimited funding, free flow of black money circulation, corruption, foreign funding, corporate donations and related conflict of interest etc.
• Points to note: The Electoral Trust Scheme 2013 was brought to bring more transparency to election funding. However, when some Trst starts using the provisions of the Electoral Bonds scheme, it destroys transparency and hits at the root of democratic accountability.

1. The Electoral Trust is a non-profit organization formed in India for orderly receiving of the contributions from any person. Electoral Trusts are relatively new in India and are part of the ever-growing electoral restructurings in the country. Electoral Trusts Scheme, 2013 was notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The provisions related to the electoral trust are under Income-tax Act, 1961 and Income tax rules-1962.
2. Goals - It lays down a procedure for grant of approval to an electoral trust which will receive voluntary contributions and distribute the same to the political parties. A political party registered under section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 shall be an eligible political party and an electoral trust shall distribute funds only to the eligible political parties.
3. Criteria for approval of trusts - An electoral trust shall be considered for approval if it fulfills following conditions, namely - (i) The company registered for the purposes of section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956, (ii) The object of the electoral trust shall not be to earn any profit or pass any direct or indirect benefit to its members or contributors.

• Contributions to Electoral Trusts: These receive voluntary contributions from (a) An individual who is a citizen of India; (b) A company which is registered in India; and (c) A firm or Hindu undivided family or an Association of persons or a body of individuals, resident in India. These cannot receive contributions from (a) An individual who is not a citizen of India, (b) Any other electoral trust which has been registered as a company under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 and approved as an electoral trust under the Electoral Trusts Scheme, 2013; (c) A Government company as defined in section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013; (d) A foreign source as defined in section 2 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010; (e) An electoral trust can accept contributions only by cheque, demand draft or account transfer to the bank.
• For transparency: The electoral trust may spend up to 5% of the total contributions received in a year subject to an aggregate limit of Rs. 5 Lakh in the first year of incorporation and Rs. 3 Lakh in subsequent years. The trust obtains a receipt from the eligible political party indicating the name of the political party, its permanent account number etc. The trust shall keep and maintain such books of account and other documents in respect of its receipts, distributions and expenditure. The trust shall also maintain a list of persons from whom contributions have been received and to whom the same have been distributed. Electoral Trusts were designed to bring in more transparency in the funds provided by corporate entities to the political parties for their election related expenses.
• Electoral Bond scheme: It is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties. The bonds are issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore without any maximum limit. The State Bank of India is authorised to issue and encash these bonds, which are valid for fifteen days from the date of issuance. These bonds are redeemable in the designated account of a registered political party. The bonds are available for purchase by any person (who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India) for a period of ten days each in the months of January, April, July and October as may be specified by the Central Government. A person being an individual can buy bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. Donor’s name is not mentioned on the bond, ensuring total secrecy and anonymity.

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• 6. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

IMD goes for doppler radars

• The story: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will install seven new doppler radars in Maharashtra, including Mumbai in 2021. In January 2021, the Union Minister for Earth Sciences commissioned two of the ten indigenously built X-Band Doppler Weather Radars (DWR) to closely monitor the weather changes over the Himalayas. The IMD is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, established in 1875, and the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
• Points to note: Doppler radars of varying frequencies — S-band, C-band and X-band — are commonly used by the IMD to detect and track the movement of weather systems, cloud bands and gauge rainfall over its coverage area of about 500 km. Four X-band and one C-band radar will be deployed over Mumbai. In addition, Ratnagiri will get a new C-band and Vengurla will get an X-band radar, each of which will operate for multiple purposes.
• Existing eradars: There are many -

1. East Coast: Kolkata, Paradip, Gopalpur, Visakhapatnam, Machilipatanam, Sriharikota, Karaikal and Chennai.
2. West Coast: Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Goa and Mumbai.
3. Other Radars: Srinagar, Patiala, Kufri, Delhi, Mukteshwar, Jaipur, Bhuj, Lucknow, Patna, Mohanbar, Agartala, Sohra, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Nagpur.

• Significance: They will guide meteorologists, particularly in times of extreme weather events like cyclones and associated heavy rainfall. As the radar observations will be updated every 10 minutes, forecasters will be able to follow the development of weather systems as well as their varying intensities, and accordingly predict weather events and their impact.
• Radars: A Radar (Radio Detection and Ranging): is a device which uses electromagnetic waves in the microwaves region to detect location (range & direction), altitude, intensity and movement of moving and non-moving objects.

1. Doppler Radar - It is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance.
2. Doppler effect - When the source and the signal are in relative motion to each other there is a change in the frequency observed by the observer. If they are moving closer, frequency increases and vice versa.
3. Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) - Based on Doppler principle the radar is designed to improve precision in long-range weather forecasting and surveillance using a parabolic dish antenna and a foam sandwich spherical radome. DWR has the equipment to measure rainfall intensity, wind shear and velocity and locate a storm centre and the direction of a tornado or gust front.
4. X-band radar - It operates on a wavelength of 2.5-4 cm and a frequency of 8-12 GHz. Because of the smaller wavelength, the X band radar is more sensitive and can detect smaller particles. It is used to detect thunderstorms and lightning.
5. C-band radars - It operates on a wavelength of 4-8 cm and a frequency of 4-8 GHz. Because of the wavelength and frequency, the dish size does not need to be very large. The signal is more easily attenuated, so this type of radar is best used for short range weather observation. It guides at the time of cyclone tracking.
6. S band radars - It operates on a wavelength of 8-15 cm and a frequency of 2-4 GHz. Because of the wavelength and frequency, S band radars are not easily attenuated. This makes them useful for near and far range weather observation.

Biodiversity loss is mankind's Achilles' heel

• The story: Mankind is fundamentally dependent on healthy ecosystems. People consume their products in the shape of fish, meat, crops, timber and fibres such as cotton and silk. Medicines may be directly harvested from the natural world or inspired by molecules and mechanisms found within it. The ecosystems that crops depend upon are regulated by living things. Through photosynthesis, trees and other plants take in carbon and pump out oxygen. In doing so they remove roughly 11bn tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, equivalent to 27% of what human industry and agriculture emits (the oceans absorb a further 10bn tonnes).
• Ecosystem services: The services that ecosystems provide to humanity depend, in turn, on there being a diversity of living things. More than 75% of global food-crop types, including coffee, cocoa and almonds, are pollinated by animals. The complex web underpinning every food chain and ecosystem means that the narrow range of species that humans eat and exploit cannot be sustained without the existence of a much greater diversity of animals, plants and bacteria. More diverse forests store more carbon than monocultures. Skipjack tuna makes up roughly half of the global tuna catch for human consumption. As young animals, they eat zooplankton, which is to say very small floating animals like tunicates, ctenophores and small crustaceans as well as the larvae of larger animals. As adults, they eat smaller fish, squid and crustaceans. To conserve the skipjack, all this diversity in its food chain must also be conserved.
• Loss and more loss: Since the 1990s, a rapid declines in animal and plant species around the globe has happened. Ecologists talk of an impending mass extinction! It would be the sixth in the Earth’s history, but one unlike any that has come before.

1. The loss of biodiversity is the result of a combination of factors: climate change, pollution, human exploitation of land, sea, plants and animals, and the displacement of some species into new territories where they play havoc with existing ecosystems.
2. Uniquely in Earth’s history, each of these drivers of ecological change is caused by a single species: Homo sapiens.

• IPBES in action: When IPBES (the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) published its assessment of the state of global biodiversity in 2019, it offered a sobering picture.

1. Roughly 1 m animal and plant species were deemed to be at risk of extinction, more than at any other point in human history.
2. These included many that are used in farming. At least 9% of the 6,200 breeds of domesticated mammals that humans eat, or use to produce food, had become extinct by 2016, and at least 1,000 more are threatened.

• Huge risk: The biodiversity crisis poses as great a risk to human societies as climate change. Since the loss of biodiversity cannot be neatly quantified, as climate change can, into parts per million of carbon dioxide, or degrees above pre-industrial average temperatures, people aren't as bothered. And the webs that link species within and across ecosystems are even more complex than the processes that drive climate change. 
• What technology can do: As well as monitoring biodiversity, technology can also be deployed to protect it. And in some cases it may even be able to reverse losses, by bringing extinct species back from the dead. It is humanity’s use of technology, whether in simple forms such as chainsaws or dragnets, or more complex ones such as modern agriculture and transportation, that is chiefly responsible for biodiversity loss. The challenge now is to deploy it so that it is not just part of the problem, but part of the solution.

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• 7. SOCIAL ISSUES (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

Societies stressed as Covid Delta variant makes a global footprint

• WHO's June warning: The Delta variant, the significantly more transmissible strain of COVID-19, is expected to become a dominant lineage if current trends continue, the WHO has warned after it was reported in 85 countries and continues to be detected in more places around the world.
• Which variant is where: The COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update released on June 22 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that globally, the variant Alpha has been reported in 170 countries, territories or areas, Beta in 119 countries, Gamma in 71 countries and Delta in 85 countries.

1. Delta, now reported in 85 countries globally, continues to be reported in new countries across all WHO Regions, 11 of which were newly reported in the past two weeks, the update said.
2. WHO said the four current 'Variants of Concern' being monitored closely Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta - are widespread and have been detected in all WHO regions.
3. The Delta variant is significantly more transmissible than Alpha variant, and is expected to become a dominant lineage if current trends continue.
4. The update said that India reported the highest numbers of new COVID19 cases, 4,41,976 over June 14-20, 2021, a 30 per cent decrease as compared to the previous week. The highest numbers of new deaths were reported from India - 16,329 new deaths; 1.2 new deaths per 100,000; a 31 per cent decrease.
5. The South-East Asia Region reported over 6,00,000 new cases and over 19,000 new deaths, a 21 per cent and a 26 per cent decrease respectively compared to the previous week.
6. Decreasing trends in weekly case and death incidence in the Region are predominantly associated with decreases reported in India.

• A new study on delta: WHO noted that since the last detailed update on June 8, new evidence has been published on the phenotypic characteristics of the Delta variant. A study from Singapore showed that infection with Delta variant was associated with higher odds of oxygen requirement, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or death.

1. Delta variant was seen in a fifth of US Covid cases, as per the CDC. Studies showed that more than 2 million adults in England have had long Covid for over 12 weeks. The delta variant was reported during Euro 2020. Denmark has reported 247 cases of the variant since April 2.
2. A study in Japan "estimating the relative instantaneous reproductive number (a measure of transmission at a specific point in time) showed that the Delta variant was associated with greater transmissibility" when compared to the Alpha variant.
3. When compared with the variants circulating in Japan before December 2020, the relative instantaneous reproduction number for Alpha was estimated to be at 1.56 and for Delta 1.78. Overall, this study showed Delta was associated with 1.23 times higher transmissibility than Alpha.

• Vaccine effectiveness estimates: This, against hospitalisation due to Delta and Alpha variants over 14 days post second dose, was estimated to be 96 per cent and 95 per cent respectively for Pfizer BioNTech- Comirnaty and 92 per cent and 86 per cent respectively, for AstraZeneca-Vaxzevria. Single dose effectiveness against hospitalisation over 21 days after immunisation remained high for Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty at 94 per cent against Delta and 83 per cent against Alpha. Effectiveness of one dose of AstraZeneca-Vaxzevria against hospitalization was similar for Delta and Alpha variants.
• Summary: Together, studies suggest moderately reduced VE at preventing symptomatic disease and infection due to the Delta variant as compared to Alpha. The studies provide further evidence of the importance of two doses of both Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty and AstraZeneca-Vaxzevria in preventing hospitalisation, symptomatic disease and infection due to both Delta and Alpha variants.

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• 8. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2)

China plans manned MARS mission 2033

• The story: Taking a huge leap of faith right before the 100th anniversary celebration of the Chinese Communist Party in July 2021, China has planned to send its first crewed mission to MARS in the year 2033.
• Points to note: The manned MARS Mission will be launched with regular follow-up flights. Mission will be launched with a long-term plan to build a permanently inhabited base on MARS and extract its resources. This ambitious plan will intensify a race with United States to put humans on MARS. Plan was disclosed after China landed a robotic rover on Mars in May 2021. It was China’s inaugural MARS mission.
• Series of Manned Missions: China has planned manned launches to Mars for 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and so on. Before the manned missions, China will send robots to Mars that will study possible sites to set up base and to build systems to extract resources there.  Resources would be extracted to study it properly for manned mission.
• Challenges ahead: For human habitation on the planet, crews will have to be able to use resources from MARS. For instance, they should be ready for extracting any water beneath planet’s surface, generating oxygen on-site and producing electricity there. China must also develop technology to fly crew back to Earth. To reduce travel time to Mars, spacecraft would have to tap energy from nuclear reactions in the form of heat and electricity, besides from traditional chemical propellants.

FM addressed USISPF-Global Investors Meet

• The story: India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, addressed the Global Investors Roundtable organised by US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) on June 24, 2021.
• Key points: She asserted that continuous reforms make India a great place to do business. She invited global investors to take advantage of recent FDI reforms, privatisation policy and performance linked incentive (PLI) scheme in India. She highlighted the fiscal situation being under control and expected to improve in coming days and emphasised the strong fundamental of economy. The COVID-19 and its aftermath has shown Indian economy’s resilience. Highest ever Goods and Services Tax (GST) were collected amid the pandemic. It signifies the bright spot and indicates greater formalisation of economy and tax compliance.
• Fiscal deficit: It was at 9.3 per cent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for fiscal year 2020-2021. It was lower than 9.5 per cent estimated by finance ministry in revised Budget estimates.
• US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF): It is a non-profit organization which was set up in 2017 with the objective of strengthening USA-India bilateral and strategic partnership. It aims to strengthen economic and commercial ties between both the countries by policy advocacy. It will lead to boosting economic growth, entrepreneurship, employment-generation, and innovation in order to establish a more inclusive society.

UN World Drug Report 2021

• The story: The World Drug Report 2021 was released by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). As per the report, 275 million people used drugs across the world in 2020.
• Findings: As per the report, 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders. In last 24 years, cannabis potency had increased by four times in some parts of the globe. Percentage of adolescents who perceived drug as harmful has reduced by 40 per cent. Despite that, cannabis use is associated with a variety of health and other harms, particularly among regular long-term users. Drug Report highlight the need to close gap between perception and reality to educate young people about harmful effects of drugs and safeguard public health. Percentage of Δ9-THC, main psychoactive component in cannabis, has increased from six per cent to 11 per cent in Europe between 2002-2019.
• Drugs and COVID-19: Most countries reported an increase in use of cannabis during covid-19 pandemic. As per surveys of health professionals in 77 countries, 42 per cent asserted that cannabis use had increased. As per the latest report, about 5.5 percent of population aged 15 and 64 years have used drugs at least once in 2020. While, 36.3 million people (13% of total number of persons who use drugs) suffered with drug use disorders.

West Bengal approves Student Credit Card scheme

• The story: The West Bengal Cabinet approved the “Student Credit Card scheme” on June 24, 2021. Trinamool Congress had promised to launch this scheme in its election manifesto.
• Students Credit Card Scheme: This will be implemented and launched on June 30, 2021. Under the scheme, student can get a soft loan of up to ₹10 lakh with the help of credit card to enroll into higher studies. Loans will be given for higher studies in India as well as abroad. Loans will be given at 4% interest rates. State government would act as guarantor.
• Eligibility: Anyone who has spent 10 years in West Bengal can avail loan benefits under the scheme. Loan will be available for undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral study. One person is eligible to get loans under scheme till 40 years of age.
• Repayment:: Students will be provided Fifteen years to repay the loan after they get a job. A similar scheme is run by Bihar government. Bihar government has launched “Student Credit Card Scheme” on October 2, 2016. Under this scheme, interest free loan of up to 4 lakh rupees is provided by state government to the poor 12th pass students of Bihar state to enroll into higher education. It was launched to benefit the students of Bihar with poor background and who are eager to complete their higher education. Loans are provided only to those students who are permanent resident of Bihar.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

Solve the online quiz given, right now. Check scores, and relative performance!

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